Planning a weekend getaway? You may need to put them on hold, as the Railways is planning a ‘Mega Block.’
What does this mean?
A ‘Mega Block’ refers to a disruption of services by the national carrier, in order to carry out much-needed maintenance work. According to a report by the Financial Express, the Indian Railways will rework its timetable by August 15, 2018, and identify the trains which will be affected by the maintenance drive. Following this, the drive will be formally launched.
Major work across all the zones of the Indian Railways is expected to be carried out every Sunday.
Speaking at a press conference, Railway Minister, Piyush Goyal said, “We will work towards passenger engagement, creating awareness among the passengers, informing them in advance. Whenever a train gets delayed during a meal time, we will provide free food and drinking water to them.”
According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the minister also added that the time-tables of all the zonal railways would be revised in such a way that maintenance work is carried out in a planned manner.
As a passenger, you will be informed about the delay via SMS and newspaper ads. GPS loggers in the system, which will help log the progress of each train on a real-time basis, will be uploaded on to the official website of the Indian Railways. Passengers can enter train details, and find out where the train is.
In addition to the above, the Railway Ministry also plans to increase coach-factory outputs. Their goal is to have spare rakes and additional coaches to standardise the rakes.
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Well, considering that the national transporter carries millions daily, setting time aside to keep that massive network in prime shape is essential. So, don’t make weekend plans, without factoring in these time-blocks!
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
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